Innholdsfortegnelse for TGFM Issue 12 - April 2021 i The Global Filipino Magazine

22-year-old finishes Filipino Institute’s MBA program, offers victory to parents A Philippine-based 22-year-old has successfully finished the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in the Filipino Institute and is offering this momentous victory to her parents. Leonel M. Franco took the virtual MBA program after graduating from college with a course of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. Franco, who is reviewing for his CPA board exams, told The Global Filipino Magazine took the program in an effort to improve his professional skills, especially his leadership and practical knowledge about establishing a business. A young business-oriented individual, he said that he chose the training institution because the primary aim of the latter is to empower Filipinos who are finding it difficult to thrive abroad. Franco is also probably one of the…

Pursuing passion in life towards achieving goals abroad They say that if one wants something, that person will find a way. Living and working in the UAE for five years now, several people have asked and wondered why Madeliene F. Baguyot, a senior administration officer for a real estate firm in Dubai, gave up her nursing profession and went down a different career path. Baguyot, 31, practiced her profession in the Philippines for almost two years in various health care settings, particularly the ER unit, however, while in Dubai, she pursued her real passion in life and worked towards achieving her goals. A Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduate, she passed the board exams in 2013. Two years after, after realizing that she needed to earn more money, she decided…

Military fitness coach Ruperto D. Marquez III has been training soldiers and conducting military fitness courses in the UAE since he arrived in the country last February 2016. Currently, he is also the sole coach handling the military course for soldiers in Hatta. For several years, Marquez has been a fitness coach for famous celebrities, including Ivana Alawi and Nadine Lustre. The celebrity fitness coach has also been featured on local TV shows. In the hopes to fully support his family and establish a decent career and personal growth, he embarked on an overseas journey. “Dubai offers a lot of opportunities for career, financial, and career growth,” he said, noting that while living overseas, he’s able to secure an MBA degree and finished a photography course. Despite living a comfortable…

An ambassador for leading UAE photography brands For the last 19 years, Chris Malvar A. Calumberan, an entrepreneur and a husband, and a father of three, has been living and working in the UAE. He embarked on an overseas life in 2002 as a web page designer in Sharjah. After working in several production companies, he has been accustomed to home film and stills productions work in the region. Thirteen years after, he registered his company Chris Calumberan FZE and started working with global brands, including McDonald’s, Audi Magazine, Hermes, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton. Before establishing a career in photography, he worked as the operations manager for Creative Management; location manager for Bareface Productions; and interior photographer for Better Homes. Calumberan, who considers himself a general photographer, said that through…

‘Always hold on to God’: Filipino business owner in Dubai credits God for success.By Nina Eloisa Leuterio Working abroad was never something that Enrique III Rivera Araneta considered. It had never sparked in his mind before, despite all of his family members are living abroad. Admittedly, Araneta shared that it was something that he despised considering because he was used to having been provided to by his parents. He considered himself as an easy-golucky person, he didn’t want to deal with something that could possibly be hard for him. This changed, however, when he decided to visit Dubai. Having had a couple of friends who worked abroad and out of curiosity, he became interested in what life must be like to work abroad. Something he liked about Dubai was the…

‘People told me my goals are impossible’: Pinoy photographer in Dubai reaches new milestone Filipino professional and travel photographer John Ruzz Cabayan Merca, despite receiving criticisms that he would not be able to reach his goals, is celebrating his ‘biggest achievement’ from his Instagram account. Merca, the photographer behind viral Dubai photos, has recently reached 10,000 followers on the photo-sharing app two years after creating the account. Through his IG account, he posts a series of great sceneries found in the city. In a short video he shared on his social media accounts titled ‘10k Love Letter’, he shared his journey which he embarked on two years ago. “It all began 2 years ago. There I was just a random dude who fell in love with photography and decided to…

‘I found my purpose as a Financial Literacy Evangelist’By Nina Eloisa Leuterio These days, investing is all the rage when it comes to earning more money. You’re encouraged with the same words: “You should invest because investing is making your money work for you. You should invest because investing is earning money while you sleep. You should invest because you can earn Php500,000 with just Php10,000!” Following the trend feels inviting and the promise of profit seems tempting, but Jay Adrian Tolentino’s story seems to suggest otherwise (not yet at least). Tolentino, 33, a sales manager for Ayala Land International Middle East, and an independent financial coach, shares that he had made quite the investments before—investments that made his finances a “mess”. “I joined a Ponzi scheme, I invested on…

Former private nurse shares how previous jobs in UAE shaped him as a person Mark Kevin Geronimo Domingo, when asked to describe himself, said he is a jolly and lovable person who loves to motivate and spread positivity. He recalled arriving in the alien country in 2015. At that time, he was lucky to land an accountant general job for a multimedia agency. Like many Filipinos abroad, he chose to work overseas to provide himself and his family members in the Philippines a comfortable life. For six years, Domingo, while finding his true purpose in life, worked for different companies until he found his true calling. After working as a general accountant in 2015, he transferred to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi to work as a sales executive. After…

‘At first, UAE didn’t impress me at all’: Filipino shares his story as an OFWBy Nina Eloisa Leuterio For Christian Marlowe S. Estocada, deciding to work abroad is a tough decision. Personally, he opted to work abroad because of better career opportunities and because of familial responsibilities. He saw UAE as a land of opportunities, as it welcomes more than a hundred nationalities and as there are several career options for everyone. At first, he wasn’t actually impressed with the host country. He came to UAE in the summer of 2011 as a tourist and was dissatisfied because of the hot and humid weather. He then came back in 2015, however, due to his own familial responsibilities. Just like his father who worked as an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), he…

OFW educator receives PNU’s Gawad Sulo Award for Eminent Alumni 2021 Filipino overseas educator Clarinda Mendoza Estrella has recently received the Gawad Sulo Award for Eminent Alumni 2021 from her alma mater Philippine Normal University. The award is only given in recognition of all outstanding and deserving individuals in various fields, including education, for their contributions to the Philippines and the Filipino citizenry. “Nakakaiyak, nakakakilig, nakaka-proud,” Estrella, 51, and is currently working in Doha, Qatar for almost a decade now as the executive coordinator in an international offshore school, said. A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Education Major in English, with Specialization in Values Education, and Master of Arts in Education Major in Educational Management, the Filipina educator also provides administrative and educational coordination support for the school educational…

Filipino nurse in UAE is both a COVD-19 respondent and an educator.By Nina Eloisa Leuterio Being a professional nurse with almost 10 years of experience, Karl Vincent Ricamadas Baybay never ought to spend almost half of that experience in the UAE. When his wife decided to leave the Philippines and work in the UAE, he contemplated and considered it as well. “I have thought, why not? So I followed her here in the UAE, in the name of love,” Baybay professed. In 2016, he went through with his plans and went to the UAE; in hopes of continuing his career as a nurse and for the purpose of being with his wife. When he arrived in the country, he dealt with the struggle of not having a HAAD license. When…

From merchandise stock controller to owner of online retail clothing business in UAE Lemuel Garrido Africa revealed that ‘not in a million years’ he has thought to work abroad as he was happily pursuing a career in marketing in the Philippines. However, when he was asked by his brother if he wanted to join him overseas, he jested that he wanted to. Africa, thinking that his brother got the joke. Unknowingly, his brother was already preparing for his visa and was surprised to know about it. Back in the Philippines, he pursued a career in marketing as a marketing assistant for a cookware company and then moved to a different company as a marketing services assistant for a donut company. “I really love to pursue a marketing career since I…

Meet this Filipina int’l beauty pageant winner and Netflix actress in Dubai Like many overseas Filipino workers, Lorevie Rexie Lianko Carrascal opted to work abroad to help her family and build a better career overseas. She was inspired to work abroad by her father who is working as a seafarer for nearly two decades now and by her sister who works as a nurse in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She arrived in Dubai in 2017 and secured a job only after 10 days from her arrival in the host country. Carrascal, who hails from Albay province, said the emirate is a ‘great place’ that offers a lot of job opportunities in different career paths. A city where all the world meets, she added that residents are also very welcoming.…

The puzzle pieces fall into place if you dare ask’By Nina Eloisa Leuterio Frando Luis De Lara Sarmiento never imagined that he would be in the world of sales after university. He has heard unsettling things from his contacts that didn’t sit well with him. For example, he shared how a company director affirmed that the corporate culture in a company is to put a premium on one’s ability to climb the ladder on the basis of who you know. Coming from a director who had “mestiza” features, to Sarmiento, the culture felt unfair and somewhat misogynistic. But after having seen a company head be so well versed in his snake oil pitch, how he was able to play with the emotions of his then-to-be investors, he felt inspired. “Albeit…

Filipina in UAE thanks Filipino Institute for providing free online course A Filipina in the UAE is grateful to the Filipino Institute for giving her an opportunity of taking a free online course and earning a certificate that can be attested by the Knowledge of Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mofa). “Learning is a continuous process whether you’re old, young, working, and a mother,” Cynde Paderna, a Dubai-based Filipino mother, said. She added that the opportunity gave her a ‘perk’ of taking her kids and learning at the same time. Paderna, upon learning the opportunity, took the Communication Strategies-Basic Training Course. This is the first time she took the course in the Filipino Institute as two years ago, she recalled taking a short certification course…